Life when you are 6 inches Tall
by dib07
Summary: Yami finds himself in an embarrassing situation. He has somehow made himself tiny. But he cannot remember how. Yugi and co.'s world gets turned upside down when they realize that there is no quick reversal. And was this all really just some nasty accident?
1. Chapter 1

**Life when you are six inches Tall**

By Dib07

xxx

**Summary:** Yami finds himself in an embarrassing situation. He has somehow made himself tiny. But he cannot remember _how. _Yugi and co.'s world gets turned upside down when they realize that there is no quick reversal. And was this all really just some nasty accident?

**Warning:** Teen

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**A/N:** I will only update this story if there is any interest. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this story or if its worth writing. I've done a few chapters already and I like the way it is going, but it will be pointless submitting it if no one is interested. So let me know. Otherwise, enjoy. ^^

Chapter one:

"Will you please, please not get into trouble today, mou hitori no boku?"

"I'm trapped inside your house, little one. There isn't much I _can't _do." Yami said, cocking his head at his cherished partner. Yugi was looking flushed and agitated today. He had his last assignment to hand in before the holidays and he had been up half the night perfecting it. Because of this, both of them hadn't had much rest.

"I bought some old Egyptian books for you," Yugi said suddenly, as if it were a kind of apology. "I've left them on the kitchen table. They'll keep you entertained until I get back."

"Babysitter?" Yami said mockingly on queue.

"Oh, it'll be Joey today. He doesn't have to worry about class until tomorrow since we're on different courses. Look, I really have to go! Be good!"

Yami waved him off as Yugi jogged down the road. What his Aibou really needed was a chariot. Then he'd always get to college on time.

Yami shut the door. Joey hadn't arrived, and Solomon was on a business trip for the week. He was well and truly on his own.

He wandered about the house like he used to do his maze, and investigated the rooms like a lonely man revisiting scenes in his memory.

He tried to rest by sitting down and watching the television. After summoning the courage of lifting the magical remote, he aimed it like he was aiming a sword at the blank TV and hit a button. He almost dropped the remote in his shock when the TV blasted back in full colour and volume. Holding his racing heart, he picked up the remote and hit the red button, throwing the TV back into lifeless silence once more.

"Dear Ra!"

A little calmer, he went into the kitchen and opened the 'snowbox' to procure himself a glass of orange juice. He poured it into a glass and drank it down while keeping an eye on the time. Joey was late.

When he looked back down, he saw the offerings of books on the table. They looked old, and a little dusty. Yami put the tumbler down and approached them with curiosity. There were two books with faded spines and discoloured covers. One of them was falling apart.

Yami opened up the first one to find that all the pages had yellowed.

He went to look up the date to find that they were Victorian. Yami frowned. Was 'Victorian' a breed of humans?

Still, he investigated further, and when he flicked through the oldest of the two books, he saw that many of the pages contained Egyptian spells. They had been carefully copied from their originals in Cairo.

"Why would Yugi...?"

There was a ring at the door, followed by impatient knocking, Yami sighed and left the books to answer the door. When he opened it, he leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. "You're late."

Joey shrugged and moved past him. He was carrying a case of beer. "Yeah well, I got held up."

"I could have opened a drawer of knives and killed myself."

"Very funny. Smartass." Joey put the beer on the table beside the books. He gave them one cursory glance before heading over to the fridge for food. "So, any games to play? We can play duel monsters."

"My deck is in Yugi's room." He said.

"I'll get it. You stay here." He turned and slapped a cold packet of turkey legs on the table from the fridge. Yami wrinkled his nose in disgust at them. "Be right back!" He gave a dry chortle and headed for the stairs. Yami watched him go, then reached forwards and slid one of the heavy Egyptian tomes over towards him. He sat up on the chair and opened the front page. "Where did Aibou get these?" He asked himself, mystified. The book was dusty, and smelled of mildew and neglect. The pages literally creaked from the broken seam inside when he turned them, and many of the inscriptions and pictures were either faded or torn out.

"_Uma Fa healu_." He said, reading out the title on one page littered with Egyptian hieroglyphs. If it had been translated in Japanese it would have read: 'Spells to ward off enemies.'

He paused a moment to search for the publisher's date, a tactic Yugi had taught him. But there was nothing – not even a listed author.

He went back to the page he was looking at previously and read out some of the spells. One of them just didn't sound right. One of the hieroglyphs was spelt wrong. It was supposed to say: 'Fel de hahh.' Or. 'Thus I evoke.'

He said it again to himself, liking the sound of his native tongue when the lights in the chandelier above him suddenly started to fizz on and off. The walls seemed a darker shade of blue than they were before, and he could hear the hissing of snakes. He stepped back from the table so fast that he knocked his chair to one side.

A gathering bolt of pain surged through his torso, and his vision grew grey as if he was trying to see through gauze. As he looked, he suddenly felt smaller, much smaller. Either that or he was fainting – he wasn't sure which. But he was pretty sure – pretty_ darn_ sure the table had got bigger – monstrously so. The chair too, struck on one side, now looked mountainous. Both articles of furniture loomed over him with sinister reprisal and the floor grew and expanded: drawing him in: sucking him down.

xxxx

Yami's deck wasn't hard to find. Yugi was a young individual who thought highly on neatness and organisation, so the bedroom looked sparse as much as it did clean. Joey secretly wondered what the Pharaoh thought of such an established younger brother.

The deck was sitting in the top drawer of the desk above papers, a cup holding dice and a sketch pad. Joey took the deck out and checked the cards to make sure it was indeed Yami's. The first five cards confirmed the owner, so Joey stuffed it in his back pocket and plodded down the landing and then down the stairs. He heard the cackle of electricity but it stopped so quickly he barely noted it as anything serious. Maybe there was a short circuit somewhere? And something had shorted out? He shrugged and proceeded to the kitchen.

What he found in the kitchen put him back a step.

Standing still as if suspended by an invisible wall that he had accidently walked into, Joey cringed in one spot as he glanced helplessly down at the pile of clothes on the floor by an overturned chair. Yami's cobalt pants were there, so was his jacket, belts – god how many belts did he wear? And his bangles, other jewellery, the dog collar... his white boxers, his socks. Jesus! Did Yami just decided to spontaneously strip and was now running around the house somewhere, naked?

Naked?!

Joey slapped a hand to his face. "Oh my god! What in hell is going on?"

The invisible wall held him for a moment as he braced himself, eyes hooked to the pile of clothing as if his friend's act of insanity was lethal as well as crazy. Then logic returned and he walked towards the chair, placing Yami's deck down by the two old books. One of the books was open on a particular page but Joey didn't notice these specifics. He picked the book up and closed it, resting it atop the other.

"Yami?" He called. "Yami? Where the hell are ya? You... you naked, pal?" He stopped to consider how ridiculous he sounded. Then continued anyway. "Yo, dude? Where are you? I... I brought yer deck."

He listened for a reply. Strangely he wasn't answered. All he could hear was the distant hum of the fridge and the tick-tocking of the clock on the kitchen wall.

He went into the parlour. It too was empty. He tried the little cupboard beneath the stairs. Empty.

It would have been impossible for Yami to pass him if he had gone upstairs, but Joey checked anyway. All the bedrooms and bathroom were empty.

"What the hell?"

He was a little bit spooked, and a little bit guilty. If he didn't find Yami soon, naked or no, Yugi would return home demanding an explanation. And Joey didn't have one.

At all.

He picked up the books and left them by the front door, thinking them to be for some yard sale. Then he returned to the pile of discarded attire. Joey couldn't exactly just_ leave_ them here. So he started gathering them up into his arms.

Something a little heavier fell down one of the arm sleeves and landed on the tiled flooring. And it didn't make a metallic sound like that of a falling accessory part. Joey peered at it, and when he had, he drew back violently, his back hitting the table. The table in turn jerked heavily and left a mark on the floor below its feet.

He dropped the clothes, dropped everything and nearly went to stand and run. But he had to take a closer look. What he had just seen couldn't have been real. No, no!

He hadn't had any dope, he was sure. And he had only drunk one beer! He couldn't be hallucinating so badly!

So he took another look with great fear as if he was peering down into the maw of a tyrannosaur.

Even as he looked again, eyes filling with the image of a little man, his brain was screaming denials, dissents! But his eyes still saw.

There, before him was Yami lying sprawled on the floor. Naked.

Only, he was doll sized.

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

**Life when you are six inches Tall**

By Dib07

xxx

**Summary:** Yami finds himself in an embarrassing situation. He has somehow made himself tiny. But he cannot remember _how. _Yugi and co.'s world gets turned upside down when they realize that there is no quick reversal. And was this all really just some nasty accident?

**Warning:** Teen

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**A/N:** Wow! I never knew I'd get such reception! 9 reviews? Really? Well, because of you guys you've really greased the wheels and I've written close to eight chapters. I have a good plot. A very good plot for a main character whose shrunk. The ending is still unknown, but I have time to figure it out. There also MIGHT be pockets of angst. I'm not sure. I never am. XD Anyway, because I have quite a few YUGIOH stories on the go, I can't decide which one to update next. So there is a **voting system** on my profile. **Pick your story** and if it has the most votes, I'll update that story without question. I'm not quite sure what to do though if I get a tie. XD

**M:** You made me smile! I hope I can keep topping your expectations! Getting this story going was hard. And now I think it's even better hopefully than the sketches I had devised for it in my mind.

**YamiKitty223:** Thank you! I had this idea going round in my head for months, but had NO idea how to get it going. Now I think I'm falling in love with it too! I'm not often a fan of cute - cute stories, but with this one I'll make a special exception! And boy is it cute! :)

**Guest:** Dear Guest, I think you are the one reviewing Damaged Goods! :D Here is another chapter on the go! Joey is one ludicrous character! But I don't think I could never trust him with a tiny Yami for long, especially when he binges like his father! XD Bless him! A tremendous thank you for the review! Your support leaves me close to being speechless with gratitude!

Chapter two:  
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Joey picked up one of Yami's metal bangles and used it like a stick to poke at the tiny thing lying on the floor. Even an arm's length from this hysteria of madness was too close.

Each prod made the figure slump a little way, before it fell limp again.

He waited, and the creature did not move or open its eyes.

"A joke." Joey whispered uselessly. Helplessly. "A damn fuckin' joke! Oh yeah, real funny guys! You can come out now!"

But no one did.

The little man on the floor had not moved since he had discovered it. So, working up some courage, Joey traded the bangle for one of his fingers. Creeping a little closer to bridge the gap, Joey prodded the little thing's pale, bone-white arm. Then he withdrew like lightning. The human-figure remained still. And he could have sworn he had just touched warm flesh, not plastic, or wood, or any other manmade material.

As Joey was trying to comprehend all this, the little person began to groan. It was a small sound, barely registered. But Joey heard it, and held his breath, eyes practically bulging in his head. He thought of rising and grabbing a phone, but really, what would he say? That there happened to be a tiny Yami on the floor? Oh yeah, real smooth Joe.

The little figure sat up suddenly and at first this 'Yami' didn't notice him. He rubbed achingly at his head and looked around at his bare thighs, feet and then his eyes trailed to the huge valley of clothes circling him like hills. When he looked up, he saw Joey staring down at him. At once he remembered his nakedness and tried to hide himself from behind a flap of blue material.

"What in Ra's name are you looking at?" Cried the miniature pharaoh in a tinny voice. Then he seemed to rediscover himself. He looked again at his setting, and gasped. "Everything is huge!" He looked to Joey. "You are huge! I'm naked! What have you done?"

"What have I done?" Joey laughed. It was an unhinged laugh. "This is such a fucking dream! I feel so surreal!" He put his face in his hands and then rubbed his eyes as if he was trying to recover from a hangover. But when he opened his eyes again, Yami was still perched behind a wrinkle of clothing, looking confused and embarrassed.

"Bring me my clothes!" The now tiny duellist raged, but his voice was so faint that Joey could barely hear him. "And you! Get down here! You've grown eighty feet!"

"I think you need to redo your calculations." Joey pinched his eyes shut. He was either arguing with a hallucination, or something extremely worse. "No Yami, you've shrunk. Okay? Shrunk."

"I can't..." He held his head, looking frightened for a normally coherent, brave duellist. "I can't remember what happened! I hit my head! It really hurts!"

Well, he had been lying there amongst colossal clothing, unconscious. For at least a minute. He must have hit his head pretty hard. Joey rolled his eyes. "Well shit. So you don't remember the last thing you did?"

"No!"

"Oh my god I am going crazy here." Joey thought of getting up and walking out the house for some fresh air. The sense of this surreal reality worried him. "Maybe I hit my head and I'm dreaming."

"May I propose a suggestion?" The tiny version of his former self implored.

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"That you summon Yugi. At once!"

"You think this is easy?" Joey muttered and rose. As soon as he towered upright, Yami shrunk further away into the clothing, alarmed at the size his best friend could achieve so easily. "Jesus H. Christ!" He swung round and snapped out his phone. He looked behind him while he dialled, but from this distance all he could see was a bundle of clothes and buckles. "Hello? Hello? Yuug?" He paused, and then let it rip. "I think I've finally cracked!"

"What do you mean?" Yugi's voice sounded tinny and shallow on the phone.

"Well, unless I'm going bananas and need to be sectioned, I have a six inch Yami here who's shrunk out of his clothes."

"Pardon?"

"Must I repeat myself? Look, just get down here right now before I take myself to a loony house!"

Yugi started laughing on the other end. Joey just hung up. He couldn't be dealing with his best friend's disbelief right now. Then he turned back to the pile of clothes. "You hear that, Yami? Your little partner was laughing because you're smaller than a fuckin' Barbie doll!"

"Did you forget, Joey? I'm still naked!" Yami barked furiously when the blond got close enough to hear him snap back.

"I have no dolls clothes on me right now. So sorry."

"Joey!"

"Jeez, alright already!" He quickly looked around for something – anything to cover a naked six inch human being. Nothing nearby inspired him. Everything was just so, well, LARGE. A towel was monstrous. As were coats and jackets hanging on the rack. The cloths from the bathroom were too rock-hard and rigid.

He patted down his pockets, and surprised himself by pulling out a chequered green handkerchief. He didn't even know why he carried the stupid thing. He never used it. It just stayed in his trouser pockets in every wash.

He lowered it down towards Yami and then quickly withdrew when the pharaoh grabbed it.

Purposely, Yami wrapped the hanky around himself like one would wrap a towel around as much of their skin as possible when someone was at the door and had to be answered.

Joey had slim ideas on which to work on. He didn't know what to do until Yugi got back home. He was sure he could fix all of this in seconds. For the time being, Joey just had to do with what he thought was best.

And there was no way he was going to leave Yami on the floor to get stepped on, or lost.

Joey bent down and leaned towards him, his arm acting like an expanding bridge that came at Yami with super speed.

"Whoah!" Yami backpedalled too fast to get away and fell over his huge snake-like belt. His little legs danced in the air as he tumbled right over it. Joey awkwardly grabbed him, and when he heard Yami shriek he knew he had gripped him much too tightly.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He said half absently as he softened his purchase on him.

Joey lifted him up until Yami was eye level with him. His fingers were wrapped securely around his arms and middle so that the little pharaoh couldn't work himself loose and hit the cold ground that was about as lethal to Yami as a nosedive of two hundred feet straight into flat concrete.

Yami's life was now solely in his hands, and by the pharaoh's expression, he didn't like it very much.

"Hold on, I'm gonna take you up stairs."

"For what cause?"

"To put you on Yugi's bed, you idiot! It's soft there, and it should keep you in one place without us having to worry about stepping on ya!" He walked up the stairs. "You sure you didn't use any magic, Yami? How else would you have got to this size?"

Yami was still pulling a face. He obviously hated being handled this way and wasn't giving Joey an easy time of it.

Joey walked into the bedroom. The sunlight was streaming in, giving the chamber a golden glow. He gently lowered his hand until his fist was half an inch above the pillow. Then he opened up his hand. Yami dropped down and hit the pillow. Once he had landed, he quickly gathered the handkerchief about him in case he had slipped a peak of himself.

"Stay here." Joey warned him sternly. "Promise me."

"You've trapped me on a giant, soft island."

"Precisely. Now promise."

Yami folded his arms over a chest covered in handkerchief. "Very well. So long as you inform me of what of is happening."

"Yes, yes! I'll be back in a minute!" Joey stole one more glance at him before leaving. He jogged down the stairs and gathered Yami's old clothing into his arms, then draping it over one of the kitchen chairs.

**xxx**

"This had better be good. You know I don't like your pranks." Yugi had not long come through the door, and he was in the middle of hanging up his college bag on the rack by all the coats and jackets. He looked harried and hot, as if he had ran some of the way home after getting a taxi. Usually he got lifts from Joey when home time came: if not he took the next best thing.

"Yeah, I know. Blame it on Yami. He just happened to do it today."

"Do what?"

"I dunno. He must have used a spell, and then whacked his head pretty good, 'cuz he can't remember any of it at all. I tried asking him again and again. It's like trying to argue with a piece of sponge."

"I don't think you qualify as a babysitter anymore."

"What? Don't blame this on me!"

"It sounds like you left him on his own when he banged his head."

"Well..." Joey felt incredibly guilty and inscrutably defeated.

"Show him to me then."

Yugi obviously had no idea what he was about to see. As they walked up the stairs together, Joey knew he had already been labelled as crazy and irresponsible. He just hoped that when he showed Yugi to his bedroom Yami would still be there, and that he hadn't shrunk even further – so much so that he might have disintegrated into dust particles.

Joey opened the door a little wider as Yugi stepped on through. "Well?" Yugi asked. "You've broken something, haven't you?" He gave the room a quick, nonplussed glance and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "And where's Yami? You said something was wrong."

"Yeah. Look at the bed. The pillow."

Yugi did so, and saw something rise slightly. At first he thought it was a peculiarly coloured squirrel that had lost its fur. When he took another look he saw that it wasn't a squirrel at all but a tiny doll-like figure.

"I don't think it's as bad as it looks." Joey said morosely.

Yugi approached the bed slowly, his feet feeling wooden – resisting his every movement. A tiny Yami covered in a greenish handkerchief peeped out at him, waving a skinny, pale arm. Yugi stopped by the bed, staring.

Joey waited for a reaction. Anything, be it screaming hysterically or flatly denying it all at once. But Yugi did neither. He bent down a little and scooped the pharaoh with both hands.

"What did you do?" Yugi asked.

"I have little to no clue." Answered his tiny companion. "Just don't drop me if you please. Heights suddenly... worry me greatly."

Yugi sat on the bed so that Yami was not above such a height, and quickly examined him. There seemed to be nothing out of proportion. Yami was simply a miniature in every aspect. After requesting for a measuring tape from Joey, Yugi measured his body and limbs. Yami measured an easy 6 inches from head to foot.

"Did you read anything? Speak anything? Did someone come in here and hurt you?" Yugi asked him all these things, to which Yami shook his head and explained his current memory loss.

"I think he smacked his head when he was shrinking. Perhaps he fell backwards." Joey tried to suggest helpfully.

"Or someone hit him." Yugi returned angrily.

"Maybe it's one of those 24 hour curses?" Joey tried again. "Maybe he read something from one of the old books ya gave him? I doubt he'll stay this way forever,"

Yugi looked first perplexed and then grievously upset. He hadn't thought about Yami staying this way forever, and now he did. Sadness crumpled his expression.

"Aibou," Yami said quietly, sensing at once his partner's irrefutable sorrow, "it's alright. I'm sure we can fix this."

Yugi choked back a little sob and nodded. "How?"

"I am not sure, but we'll come up with something. I'd really like some clothes though." And he gestured at the hanky around his middle.

"Okay, but I'll bathe you first."

Yami tensed, and became alarmed. "Aibou! Why? I am perfectly clean!"

Yugi laughed gently. Yami hadn't lost his sense of self, or some of his deep throated vocals. He wanted to cuddle him, and found that he didn't dare in case he hurt his shrunken counterpart. "That may be, mou hitori no boku, but Joey said you hit your head. If there's blood, it needs to come out. And then you need to relax but not sleep for awhile."

"Very well. Just don't drown me. You do know that I cannot swim."

Yugi chuckled. "It's okay. We'll bathe you in the sink." He still looked sad, but he forced out a little smile as he lifted Yami again. At once the pharaoh went rigid and scrabbled at Yugi's fingers as if they were handholds. The floor became a yawning incalculable depth that terrified him.

Yugi held him gently and walked through the room, one hand now under Yami's kicking legs. "Trust me, mou hitori no boku. I'd never drop you."

Yami took a steadying breath and nodded. He stopped struggling, but his heart was still pounding hard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Life when you are six inches Tall**

By Dib07

xxx

**Dib07:** Sorry for lack of updates, but no one is voting for Yugioh stories! LOL So I kinda broke my own rule here and decided that I need to give you Yugioh fans a bit of a boost and did an update anyway! Maybe the voting system wasn't such a good idea, because so far the Sonic readers have won every single week since I tried this. So anyway, here's so another chapter, and I am crediting** YamiYugiPuzzleshipper **on this because she added in a little idea!

**Guest:** LOL so many guests! Yup, puzzleshipping bath scenes are go!

**Guest:** I LOVE the way Yami talks too! He's so suave and fancy! He truly acts like a king I have to say!

**YamiKitty223:** I hope you are still around! I would have updated weeks ago but the vote system didn't really work out. If Sonic stories still keep winning then I'm going to have to take the voting system out. Oh well.

Chapter three:

The sink water was warm and a little bubbly. Yugi had used a pea sized amount of bubble bath and he was careful with the temperature of the water – testing it with his finger first before easing Yami – still naked - into the porcelain sink. Yugi's left hand was under him the whole time, enabling him to sit up so that the level of the warm water hit his collarbone.

"This isn't going to impede me from playing duel monsters." Yami declared quite sourly as if defying his cohorts to abjure his claim.

Yugi laughed softly. "I'd so like to see you try! Those cards are nearly as big as you! Now lean back, right back, so that your hair is in the water."

Yami gave him a furtive glance upward to see his massive protégé nod encouragingly before he complied. Leaning back hurt his head and he felt a burning pain slide down his skull and neck. The water touched his shaggy red and black hair until it met his hairline but he struggled to remain in this position. The pain centred at the back of his head grew as if he had a metal ball rolling around loose in his skull, and with each moment that passed, the ball expanded a little inside his brain until his skull felt tight. Turning his head to the side was no good. His mouth and eyes met water, and the metal ball seemed to slide along with him, resting at an angle inside his cranium. He felt Yugi's deft fingers comb neatly through his hair and even he could see red mist begin to form in the water. He could only assume that he torn the skin when he had hit the floor.

The pain suddenly expanded like air in a balloon. Yami cried and sat up, but instead of escaping the pain, it rocked in time to his body and the ball seemed to roll forwards so that it sat behind his eyes. Wet hair slumped down and smothered his shoulders but he hardly noticed. He shut his eyes against the afternoon light slanting through the window above Yugi's giant shoulder. The light had become an enemy too as it sought out his private fever and slabbed more agony onto what he already had.

"I'm sorry, mou hitoru no boku. It really hurts, huh?"

Yami went to nod then abruptly stopped himself. That made the metal ball grow even bigger. He wished he had never put his head back so far.

He felt Yugi's fingers gently knead his tiny body with soap. When he sneaked one eye open, he saw that the water was quite red.

As his gaze shifted around, he saw Joey out the corner of his periphery: and caught him staring. The young adult was peeking in through the bathroom door, morbid curiosity keeping him close; impractically so. Yami went red in the cheeks, having not ordained Joey's company.

"Leave at once!" He roared, making Yugi almost jump out of his skin. Joey turned so fast to get out that he blundered into the doorframe.

Yugi smiled sheepishly and double checked over his shoulder to make sure that they were alone. "It's okay, he's gone now. Sorry 'bout that."

Yugi lifted him out and lowered him down towards the towel he had prepared. Now movement hurt as that ball rolled around: a ball now covered with little spikes. An intense feeling of lethargy welled up in him and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Yugi brought a corner or edge of towel over and stroked it over Yami's body. He considered using a hairdryer on him, but the force of the hot air would probably suffocate him.

"Aibou, take me to bed please." Yami declared promptly, not having the strength to endure this torture.

"Maybe. But you can't sleep."

"Why ever not?"

"You might slip into a coma. That's what happens when you're concussed."

"Don't you have medicine for that?" For Yami was now much better accustomed to the modern world and its cures for practically anything.

"Not really, and not in your case. You're too small to take painkillers unless you lick a capsule and the taste would be really bitter."

"I suppose."

It took Yugi a while to get his hair reasonably dry without hurting his throbbing skull. He had smashed the back of his head pretty good, and blood was still coming off on the towel. And because there was nothing else to use except the hanky, Yugi slipped him into a clean sock and lifted him back into his hands. Yami resisted far less and tried not to move his head or neck too much. That irksome bath had literally reawakened all the hurt stored in his head. He couldn't blame his Aibou, all he had wanted to do was help, and see how badly he had hurt himself. And the blood had been a good indicator.

Yami closed his eyes against it all.

His partner, now a monolith that moved rapidly from point A to point B, carried him out the room.

When he slightly slanted his eyes open again, he was back in Yugi's bedroom. Joey was there, and he quickly closed the curtains.

Because the duvet was too thick to cover him with, Yugi rested Yami on top of it, and used a thinner, but softer blanket over him. Yugi used another soft, fluffy sock as a pillow and folded it a few times to add substance. He really had nothing else to use except bits of odd clothing.

Yami lay there, thickly shivering, eyes closed. But he did as was told, and did not try to sleep.

"I saw the water in the sink before he shooed me away." Joey whispered. "I don't think that's very good."

"What can I do, Joey? Do you want me to call up the doll ambulance?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that! Maybe we should get him to suck on a painkiller."

Yugi had already thought of that. He gazed down at Yami and saw him trying to look out at them from scrunched up eyelids. It was worth a try, he supposed. "Yeah. I have some aspirin. I'll be two seconds." Yugi dived out the room.

Joey drew close and knelt down by the bed, arms crossed over the sheets. "You hang in there, bud." He said. "We'll sort ya out."

Yami tried to turn his head towards him. "Would it have hurt so much if I were normal?"

"Oh yeah. I've hit my head a few times and boy does it hurt! It seems to me that you bruised your skull, but hopefully nothing more. The head does bleed a lot. And you'll have a banging headache for a few days, tops. It doesn't help that you're six inches small, but you'll do okay. Shit, all this was my fault besides. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"I just wish I knew what I did." Yami confessed miserably. His eyes were still heavily hooded.

"Yugi and I think that it's one of those 24 hour curses. I'm sure you'll be back to normal tomorrow or the day after. Magic's gotta run out, right? It always does in fairy tales."

"Yes, I suppose."

Yugi returned with the aspirin. It was one medium, white oval pill. He also had a thimble with water because he had nothing smaller. He bodged Joey out of the way and instructed Yami to suck or chew on the aspirin.

Yami had tried aspirin before and knew its bitter qualities. He attempted sitting up, and pain exploded in front of his head. As he feebly groaned and slapped a hand over his temples, he felt Yugi's hand lift him into a semi-sitting position.

"Relax, mou hitori no boku! I have the aspirin in front of you."

Yami's eyes teetered open slightly, and he saw the round pill directly in front of his mouth. The pill was roughly the size of his hand. He opened his mouth and took a shy bite. It was like tucking into a chalk cake. It crumbled into his mouth and the taste was so acidic and vile that he almost spat it back out. Yugi coaxed him with the water and he drank from the thimble with relief.

Yugi put the chewed aspirin on some mountain called the nightstand and also placed the thimble there once Yami was finished with it.

"We need to find a proper bed for him." Joey considered. "He can't sleep here."

"Why not?" Yugi said, his response a mix of bewilderment and a little bit of anger. "We've always slept together!"

"Tough!" Joey replied with a sly grin. "Because if you do sleep with him, you'll crush the King to death!"

"That's ridiculous! Of course I won't!"

"You would. We all fidget in our sleep, and before you know it, you'll wake up with a Yami with crushed bones in his body!"

Yugi fell into abject silence.

Yami, lying a little more comfortably now, watched the two argue over him.

"Then where will he sleep?" Yugi replied at last a little tensely.

Joey shrugged. "I dunno! Just not with anyone who can roll on top of him! Do you have any baskets?"

"No."

"Any lunch box containers?"

"No."

"Any... urm... matchboxes?"

"Joey," Yami said gently, "I'm not that small."

Yugi suddenly got all worked up again. "How do we feed him?"

"As normal! You gotta quit panicking, Yuug! Say we're all having vegetable soup, right?"

"Right." Yugi sighed simply.

"You just put some of it into a tiny dish or thimble. Done! And slice a bit of bread off a larger piece of bread! Good luck taking him to the loo though. I'm not quite sure how you're gonna figure that one out."

"You sure are brainy today, Joey."

"Nah, it's just common sense. I just don't panic like you do and have my brain seize up!"

"Very funny." Yugi took a deep breath and forcibly shifted some of the lingering, dull panic out of his system. "We'll need some kind of a bedpan. Something he can pee into, or poop into."

"Do you really have to discuss this between the two of you?" Yami asked wearily. He was watching them out of one slanted eyelid. The other was shut.

Joey huffed. "Yami, how many times have we all taken you to the toilet when you were sick? A lot. We don't care, do we Yuug?"

"Nope."

"I think I'll hold it in." Yami grumbled.

Yugi and Joey lightened up enough to laugh.

xxx

The aspirin did kick in and Yami's pain was softened and tucked away, the steel ball retracting its spikes and shrinking to the size of a walnut. Dozy and a little dizzy, he asked for sleep. Yugi still wasn't sure if he should let him but there wasn't a whole lot they could do. So he agreed, and Yami, falling limp, went to sleep.

"Let's check downstairs for any evidence of his transformation." Joey said in a near whisper,

Yugi nodded. "All right. Let me just write a note for him to read when he wakes. I don't want him trying to get out of bed."

"I thought he couldn't read Japanese very well."

Yugi's hope wilted. "Yeah. He can't."

"We won't be long, Come on."

There wasn't much to decipher. The clothes had been tidied, but there was nothing on them, not even one speck of blood. The books Joey explained, had been put away by the door, and one of the chairs had been kicked askew during Yami's transformation.

"If anything, it's these Egyptian books." Yugi proposed, picking them up and dumping them on the table. He whisked through them, looking hard at pages he'd never be able to understand in a thousand years. Nothing of any particular relevance was revealed.

"And he won't remember which spell he read, if he did indeed read one of these spells." Joey proclaimed. "And there's like a hundred different spells in each book!"

"I'm sure his memory will come back. We'll show him the book and ask him to pick a page."

"Yami isn't that good at remembering memories." Joey reminded him.

"We gotta call Anzu." Yugi righted the chair and tucked it in under the table. "We'll need her to sew some clothes for him."

Joey burst into reams of laughter. "Anzu? Sew? Are you kidding me!"

"Well, someone's gotta do it. Either that or we go shopping at a doll shop." Yugi countered.

"Two adult boys and an adult girl, shopping at the Doll Emporium? Really?"

"Well, why not? Adults can be doll collectors too you know. Besides," he quickly added, "we cannot keep dressing poor Yami in handkerchiefs and socks. He'll get too cold, and then he'll get angry and frustrated."

"But doll shit is expensive, I'm pretty sure. I bet some old hag sat and made a tiny rocking chair for months and then goes and charges a fortune for it!"

"Are you going to help or not?"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

Yugi shook his head and walked back to the stairs. "Just only tell Anzu about this. I don't want anyone else to know. Yami's about as vulnerable as a mouse. The tighter we keep the circle the better."

"But we're going to need help if we're to break this spell!"

Yugi nodded, and looked a little downcast. He didn't know what else to suggest.

Yami was where they had left him: asleep in a darkened room in the middle of Yugi's bed. His breathing was a little quick, but Yugi couldn't really tell now that Yami's anatomy was different.

"Magic." Joey muttered laconically as he joined him.

"Yeah." Yugi replied. "Magic."

* * *

><p><strong>Dib07:<strong> So yeah, please review, and vote if you like. ^^ I really want to know what you're all thinking! And I reply to every comment!


	4. Chapter 4

**Life when You are Six Inches Tall**

by Dib07

Chapter four:

"Look, we've dealt with some weird things, right? This can't be any different!"

Yugi huffed patiently and didn't let his expression betray him. He showed Anzu a chair in the lounge and gave her a cup of hot coffee. Joey was sitting across from her on a stool, fumbling with his hands, his face grey.

"You know magic. Right Anzu?" Yugi started quietly. "We've all seen it plenty of times."

"Y-Yes. I guess so."

"You've seen all kinds of strange happenings."

"Yes. I guess I have..."

"And Yami getting his own body was one of those events."

"I guess." She looked from him, to Joey. She started feeling isolated and a tad indignant. "So what happened? Did Yami conjure a monster all by himself?"

Yugi was about to explain to her the story piece by piece, when Joey blankly said: "He shrunk himself. To the size of a fuckin' action figure. We believe that the Egyptian books Yuug bought him did this."

They predicted that Anzu would drop her coffee in shock, or sit for awhile absorbing the information like a bereaved widow with a blank look in her eyes. It was no secret that she had an attraction to Yami, and had done so for a very long time. Whether Yami fancied her was still a mystery. But she did neither. She was up like a shot and went racing upstairs without even asking of his location.

Yugi and Joey looked at each other.

"Doll shop next?" The blond said. "This is why we hooked Anzu into it, right? She's a girl. She should be good at these things."

"We should really be trying to figure out how to break this curse, not shopping around for him."

"Let's have some fun with Yami first, and you said yourself that he can't use hankies and socks as clothes forever, plus if it's one of those twenty four hour curses, we may as well make him comfortable."

Yugi rolled his eyes, but then smiled. "I doubt you'd be as calm if your sister shrank."

Joey laughed feebly.

xxx

"Hello Anzu." Yami still retained all formality and grace as if he hadn't become the size of a doll. Anzu stared at him from the doorway, suspecting a trick or the honesty of her own eyes. Then she cranked her legs forwards and knelt by the bed so that they were almost eyelevel. Almost.

"What have you got yourself into this time, Yami?" She was positively beaming down at him.

Yami was sitting up on his now very ENORMOUS bed with a sock as a shirt coasting down his body, revealing his skinny upper torso. Either he didn't notice, or didn't mind in the austerity of his situation.

"It would seem that I 'messed up' as you Japanese would say."

"Do you feel okay?"

"Yes, fine. I do have a headache though."

"Well, you look cute!"

Yami ducked his head down a little, a warm blush rising quickly in his diminutive cheeks.

Yugi and Joey came into the room.

Anzu turned to them but remained kneeling by the bed. "Yugi, where did you say you got the books from? The Egyptian ones that you gave Yami to read?"

Yugi scratched at his chin, and walked over until he was beside Anzu. "I didn't exactly buy them. I bumped into some guy outside campus who was carrying a bunch of books for god knows what. Our books and assignments went everywhere. We gathered them up and I noticed his Egyptian tomes. I asked about them and he said I could have them. He said that his language assignment was over, and that he didn't need them anymore. It saved him carrying them back home."

"He just gave them to you?"

"Yeah! I thought I'd just had the luck of the century, especially by how old they looked! He was such a nice guy too! Didn't catch his name though."

Anzu groaned. "You moron! He could have been anybody!"

Joey waited by the doorway, his eyes shifting from Yami, to his other friends. "I suppose that guy Yugi took the books from was an evil genius then, genius?"

"Aibou, try the puzzle." Yami said, his voice barely audible. "I find it objectionable, but try it all the same."

Yugi, who had kept the puzzle on the nightstand, brought it over and rested it by Yami. Usually the puzzle- though clunky and awkward – was never considered large. Now Yami could use it as a climbing obstacle if he wanted, or a goddamn table. However, nothing happened. And Yami would not bring himself to touch it.

Anzu, now acting like THE BOSS with little time to waste, went and returned with the two old, mildew smelling books. Using a pillow she propped one up and turned the front page. She asked Yami if the tome looked familiar, or any of its spells.

Yami shook his head.

"What does the title say?" Joey suggested from the back.

Anzu closed the book so that Yami could read the inscription on the bent, dusty front cover. "It reads, Spells to Ward off Enemies."

"And the other?" Anzu traded it for the other one.

"Curses to kill or Maim."

"Jesus!" Joey slapped a hand to his forehead. "And you gave these to Yami?" And he pointed accusingly at Yugi.

Yugi barked back: "I didn't know! Besides, since when has books killed or hurt anyone?"

"I suggest we go through each and every spell." She suggested.

Yugi was shaking his head at once without even pausing to consider her simple idea. "If he read out a curse, and he shrank himself, reading out another curse would only do damage. He'd have to read them in his head, until he found the right one, and hopefully a way to cure it. And that could take awhile. He needs proper rest first and more strength before I'll let him revise them."

Anzu put the books away while Yami watched. Once she had put them out of reach, she put her hands on her hips and muttered to Yugi: "Why would someone have such ancient and dangerous books, or better yet, take them to campus? I think this nutjob gave them to you on purpose."

Yugi stifled a giggle because it sounded ridiculous, like a conspiracy that had fused with an urban legend. "What?"

"Look," she said, maintaining her solemnity, "there aren't many households that hold Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. It seems to me like a little bit more of a coincidence, don't you think?"

Her sarcasm and seriousness was not lost on the two adult males. They looked at each other, aghast to realize that they hadn't discovered this themselves and that she had thought of it so easily.

"So, what are you trying to say?" Joey demanded softly.

"That someone staged this. They wanted Yami to read a spell out loud. He's lucky he chose one that didn't instantly hurt or kill him."

"That's stupid! Can't you hear yourself?" Joey returned.

"Hold on, Joey, Anzu might have something here."

"What would some random geezer have against Yami?" Joey snapped, turning on his duelling partner.

Yugi folded his arms. "I don't know! But Yami doesn't exactly keep a low profile! He's a celebrity in one of the most popular games to date! Maybe someone has a grudge!"

"Yes, maybe so, but not everyone knows he's an Egyptian who can read... Egyptian!"

"Look," said Yugi gently, softly, "let's sort everything out one step at a time. Let's manage Yami's new living arrangements first. Which means we're doing some shopping. Anzu, you in?"

"You bet I am!"

"And what about your Grampa, Yuug?" Joey added carefully. "He's gonna be back in five days. Then what?"

Yugi sighed. He really had no real answer to that except one. "I hope we would have fixed everything by then."

Before they began to head out, he picked up the millennium puzzle and put it around his neck.

xxx

Even though the shop was considerably full of children, the elderly and a few collectors, the shopping experience was actually quite fun. Because it was a little crowded and noisy, Yami was less likely to be noticed. Not that Yugi cared who saw or heard him. Any old parent would see this little figure and chalk it up to a new toy or gadget that responded when spoken to. Such things weren't exactly impossible after all. The Japanese market had all kinds of weird creations.

As it happened, Yugi carried Yami comfortably round in the crook of his arm. The jacket he wore too was soft and fluffy, giving Yami more handholds than he knew what to do with. And even though he wore nothing but a well wrapped hanky around his gaunt frame, Yugi's body heat from his arm and ribs rose through the fluffy material and warmed Yami right up.

The shelves were filled with everything a little girl could dream, but never afford. There were mock-up houses for either the serious collector or for the age range of ten. There were electric wires and working bulbs for houses, miniature garages, sheds, gardens. You name it, they had it.

Anzu carried the shopping basket, and was adding material into it. She looked quite ready to designate herself as 'the embroider.' She added thread, needles, the works.

Joey was checking out the doll houses, sometimes craning his head up to peer at the floors above. Some homes were as tall as a man. And the prices were astonishing. Yugi inspected the little chairs, tables and knickknacks. Yami had been mostly quiet in the crook of his arm. He was still suffering from strong headaches, so Yugi was careful how he moved and did his best not to bump into anybody.

"Is there anything you really need, Yami?" He asked. A few children stopped to look at him, wondering who he was talking to. He didn't give a flying fudge what they thought of him.

It was hard to hear the little pharaoh's response. Even at home his voice, though husky, was dim and tired-sounding. Now with a shop full of clanking tills and noisy children, it was even harder to hear his counterpart.

Yugi had formed a list, and written in scrawl were things they really needed above all else:

A bed.

Blankets.

A bedpan of sorts.

(Maybe) a chair.

A pillow.

And workable pots or dishes to place food in.

"Warm clothes..." His voice was small, but Yugi caught it.

Sadly there were no doll clothes here, hence why Anzu was grabbing all the material in any colour she could lay her hands on.

A young woman with brunette hair that had been tied into a ponytail came up to Yugi and stalled him. "Urm, where did you get that doll from?" And he pointed at Yami cradled in the crook of his arm.

"Oh," Yugi was taken completely by surprise. All his words seemed to jam up in his head. Yami was looking up at him expectantly, and then back at the woman. "Oh well, he's a special doll..." He was useless at improvising. "I don't know where I bought him from."

"Does it take batteries? It's looking around as if it's real! My girl would go mad for one of these!"

"Yeah. He is pretty cool." And he's a bit too lifelike for your little girl. He wanted to chuckle, and couldn't. Yami tried to hide beneath any loose bit of handkerchief and sink into Yugi's fluffy material.

Yugi turned from her and pretended to look at a miniature set of tea cups on a shelf next door. The woman hung around for awhile: watching as a hawk watches a mouse.

Suddenly, Joey came cramming through the crowd - holding up a bunch of items in his hands.

"Don't bump into me!" Yugi half shouted the warning before the blond could fully approach.

"I know, I know! Lookie what I found! No bedpan issues no more!"

Yugi looked at what Joey had found with raised eyebrows. He was holding a fake doll toilet, complete with doll towels that were about as real as the real thing.

"A doll toilet?" Yugi let slip a chuckle. "You can buy practically anything here! And what about beds?"

"I found 'em! They're near the shop window! Follow me! Yami has like, eighteen to choose from!"

Sure enough, on a shelf was the bed selection. The price range was high to extremely high. Even the basics beds with a simple, thin mattress were at least sixty thousand yen.

Yami seemed to pick up on his thoughts. "I'll sleep on socks. I don't mind."

"Or a shoe box." Joey quickly put in, "I have hundreds of the things at home! Besides, if it's a 24 hour curse, he won't need a doll bed fer long."

"Wow." Yugi said. "My mou hitori no boku sleeping in a beat-up old shoebox. How privileged he is."

"A shoebox sounds good." Yami piped up.

Yugi only knew he was being considerate. Yami felt awful because he had put them in this situation. But Yugi felt the guilt. It was he who had given him the books. "No. You're getting a bed."

The beds – though pricey – were cute and well-made. They really looked like their larger counterparts. There was even a bunk bed that looked as genuine as the real deal, complete with wooden steps ladders. There were Victorian styles with four poster beds, and walnut wooden ones that looked more like a boat than a bed with soft ends and high sides. Its mattress was white and spongy soft to the touch. Yami was a fan of comfort and warmth. So Yugi chose the one that closely met this criterion. It had to be the walnut bed. Though it was one of the most expensive, it was good quality. He added it to Anzu's basket when she came round.

"Do we have everything?" She asked.

"A chair?"

"Added one. Two actually. What? I'll pay for them!"

Yugi rummaged through the objects. She had chosen a rocking chair and a velvety high-backed black chair with walnut legs. "You sure know how to shop!" He told her.

"If it wasn't for me, you three boys would be like hunters without the guns!" And she winked at Yami. Yami winked back, smiling.

xxx

"Jesus, how much did we buy for him?" Joey cried, inspecting the hoard of goods.

Whilst gulping down cups of coffee or green tea after being out in the cold evening, they were going through Yami's new decor and utility knickknacks along with the material and stitching Anzu had bought for him. There were sheets of the softest pink felt, cream or red, and sheets of black. Needless to say, they had spent a lot.

Yami was sitting in the centre of the table on his brand new black chair with the hanky continually sliding down his premises. He had to keep tugging it back up again. He wanted to urinate, and didn't dare speak up. How embarrassing would it be, to pee in a porcelain toilet only for Yugi to pick it up and wash it down the sink?

Anzu spread the material flat, one sheet on top of the other beside Yami. "I'd better get sewing before it gets too late." They had had to turn the lights on as soon as they got back. It was darkening quickly, and the newscast had predicated fierce spring storms. The wind had already picked up, and the trees creaked and groaned when their branches were whipped one way or another. They had all felt the light prickle of rain when they had rushed back to the game shop – their arms heavy with shopping bags. The storm was not far behind, so Anzu wanted to at least make one set of pyjamas and a blanket before turning in for the night.

"Do you think his pacemaker shrank too?" Joey asked.

Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you think?"

While Joey picked up the pieces, seemingly curious as the inner child in him yearned to play with at least some of them, Yugi got to work finding food. None of them had eaten for a considerable time.

He put spaghetti in the saucepan, and got milk and a loaf of bread from the fridge.

Yami watched them all blankly as though he were watching a plague of giants rampage through his house. He literally had no control over anything – and had even less power. And he really wanted to use the bathroom. The porcelain toilet stood mockingly just a few inches from him: and it taunted him with its fake pull cord and wooden lid.

Life was really rough for this Egyptian Pharaoh.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dib07:** Hi again, this story won the vote! So here is the next new update!

**YamiKitty223:** Lol thanks! Hope you like this chapter too! XD**  
><strong>

Chapter five:

"Well, if I had a sewing machine, I would have been done by now!" Anzu begrudged when Joey reminded her that it was half eight at night and Yami still had no clothes. She had had to redo various attempts at her needle work. She was getting better, but she had only done Textiles a few times during her early school days, and it wasn't exactly a subject she excelled at.

They all had dinner, served up by Yugi, so at least food wasn't a problem. Yami had had a tiny flask of milk in one of his new doll sized mugs, and a few cuts of spaghetti on a silver plastic plate. After taking his medication (chewing or licking what he could from the caspsules), he had fallen asleep in the crook of Yugi's arm. The house was rattling with wind and cold, so it seemed unfair to place Yami in his new bed without clothing.

Yugi stood in the parlour by the window, looking out into a frenzied world controlled by the wind and rain.

Yami had been absolutely busting before he asked in shame to use his new facilities. Then he asked to be left in private while he did his business.

Yami didn't want to adjust.

He didn't like his new role.

He didn't like the way life threatened to swallow him.

Yugi knew it without him saying it.

Yami had kept reasonably calm, and had very little to complain about – that was Pharaoh's duty. To resent little and put his own worries aside.

Yugi put one hand on the glass pane and watched the rain trickle its way down like tears. Occasionally his eyes would helplessly shift to the tiny pharaoh sleeping against his side, his legs slightly tucked in, his head turned to the warmth and darkness. Though he hadn't done much, he was tired. Stress could do that.

They had to find a way of changing him back – and reversing what he had done. There had to be a way after all if he could do it in the first place. But until they knew more about the books, and about the spells, they had to be patient and cautious. Yami's attempt at reading a spell proved that the spells worked: that they were deadly. And Yugi didn't want Yami to read another spell and have something worse happen to him.

He supposed that so long as Yami didn't read them aloud until he was absolutely sure what he wanted to say, then all seemed well. But what if the book didn't offer counterspells?

"One day at a time." He told himself. For now they had sorted Yami's wellbeing – well, almost. Then tomorrow they'd tackle the book. If Yami were feeling up to it of course.

Yugi thought back to the man he'd accidently bumped into – was it yesterday? And tried to picture him. Yugi was pretty sure the guy wore glasses, and had black hair. The colour of the clothes could not be conjured, or the style.

He didn't understand.

Who'd want to make Yami read a spell – spells that worked? And harm him?

He supposed they were lucky that he had only shrunk himself, and hadn't accidently killed or cursed himself in other ways.

Yugi looked down at his miniature counterpart and felt his heart swell in love for him. Yami was snuggled in the soft, fleecy fur of his arm, the handkerchief wrapped around him like a rudimentary blanket, his eyes shut. His knees would sometimes bump into Yugi's rib as he dreamed, or he'd spontaneously shiver despite Yugi's warmth.

"What if we never get you back to normal?" Yugi whispered to himself. The rain lashed with fresh strength across the windowpane as the gales jostled anything that it could snare in the dark. Yugi didn't know what would happen, and he wasn't sure if Yami would soon go insane with this new lifestyle, or numbly accept it after a time.

One thing was for sure, he could see plenty of accidents on the way if he remained this size, even for a span of days or months. Even a child adoring her favourite toy always dropped it by accident, or hit it too hard. Toys got scuffed. Paint peeled off. No matter how carefully they were handled.

What if he got trodden on? Walked into?

There were dangers all around.

And it was very hard to set broken bones that were tiny.

"And Grampa... what will he think?" He was secretly hoping that the problem would have gone away by the time he got back, but now he wasn't so sure.

Joey came in quietly, hands in his pockets. He saw Yugi standing by the sofa chair, looking through a rain-soaked window. "Yo, Yuug? Anzu's finished the first set of pyjamas, properly this time. It's pink."

"Oh?" Yugi turned round. "You guys should really be heading home. It's late and the storm's getting pretty bad out there."

Joey either ignored him or pretended to not have heard. He looked at Yugi's bent arm and smiled at the snuggled King of Games. "Aww, the little dude's sleeping!"

"Yeah. He's been out cold for an hour. I really don't want to wake him."

"You could use him as a sex toy, ya know. You just gotta be careful and try not to suffocate him!"

"Joey! That was rude!" He tried to nudge him playfully, then stopped when he realized who he was still cradling.

"Joking, joking!" Joey went through the doorway and into the kitchen via the hall. Yugi followed daintily.

"Well, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh?" Anzu showed off her mediocre skills. The pyjama set she had made was literally two templates glued together via stitch. Some of the hem at the bottom hadn't lined up properly, and the seams were already fraying. However, after measuring up their little patient, they had got a good fit, trousers too. The blanket was a lot less messy, as it was more straight forward. She had cut two rectangles out of a blue cloth and a green cloth of equal size. The pillow they had bought was perfect otherwise that might have come out as a bit of a mess too.

Yugi inspected the blankets and little pink pyjama set. "Good job, Anzu." He said. "Really good job. He'll like these."

"I'll make some more tomorrow, when I got off from work."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Though I hope we have Yami fixed by then."

Joey took Anzu's coat and threw it at her. Even when he was twenty two, he still couldn't be a gentleman.

Yugi didn't show them to the door, and they understood why. They hugged and kissed Yugi farewell, and left: out into the grey, screaming storm.

xxx

The bed was all set up on the floor on a sheep lined carpet just in case Yami happened to fall out of his new walnut bed. The fake toilet was located a few inches away, just in case he had the urge. Beside that was a tiny doll table with a tiny glass of water on top. He had everything he needed really. Even a little bell to ring in case he needed Yugi quickly.

Yugi sat down by the small bed and nudged Yami with a finger. The nudges were only gentle, and Yami groaned, possibly having a good dream. He winced, shivered, and then awoke. He sat up, and panic quickly seized his face. He didn't recognise what he was lying on or where he was.

"Mou hitori no boku, hey, up here!"

Yami looked up. "Aibou! Aibou is that you? Ra you're..." Then concrete recollection softened his immense terror. "Oh yes, I had quite forgotten. I'm still small, aren't I? I suppose sleeping the spell off will not work, if it is indeed a spell I am under."

"I'm sorry." Yugi said sadly. "You're going to be this way for a little longer yet. Still, you survived your first day, right?"

Yami put on a set smile. "Yes." He looked down and saw the bed set out, along with the loo and table. "Must I really have to sleep in that?"

"I'll be sleeping right beside you, in our big bed."

Yami gazed absently at it. Their bed was a massive mass of sides that was too steep to climb. It was about as welcoming as a glacier.

"What if I may need you?" He sounded sad, hopeless.

Yugi pointed down at the miniature bronze bell by the bed. "Just ring that. I doubt I'll be able to hear your voice from up in my bed, so if you need me, ring. And I'm serious, Yami. I can't have you needing me and being too full of pride or humbleness to not ring. Okay?"

Yami nodded. "Yes..."

Placing Yami on the sheep rug, he peeled off his handkerchief and handed him Anzu's little stitched creations.

Yami inspected them briefly, liking the soft feel of the fabric. He slipped into the trousers first, but wished he could wear boxers with them. Then he eased on the top, and put his arms through the holes. It was a little baggy at the sides, but Yami was a stick really, so Anzu could be forgiven.

"Clothes! Ra!" Yami said cheerily. He did a little spin. Yugi brought over his mother's old compact so that he could admire himself in the mirror. Yami touched his face. "I'm so small."

"We'll fix you. How hard can it be? We just have to find the right spell, and find the counterspell. For now I just want you to relax and try not to worry."

"Only if you don't worry." Yami chuckled, looking up at Yugi pointedly.

Yugi smiled. "We know each other too well."

Yugi closed the compact and began to change into his own pyjamas while Yami inspected the bed with suspicious eyes. He peeled back the blankets and snuggled in. The mattress felt cold, but it was sleek against his bore toes, like silk. The pillow too was soft and bouncy. It all had a novel smell to it. This new reality just blew his mind.

He rested his head and tucked the blankets over himself.

I'm in a bed fit for dolls. Dear Ra...

"Remember, if there's anything you need, ring." Yugi stood over him wearing his flannel pyjamas. "Oh bother."

"What, what is it?" Yami knew he'd never get used to staring up at a huge Aibou, even if he stayed tiny for as long as he lived.

"I can't really... kiss you goodnight."

"Give me your hand."

Yugi did.

Yami grabbed a finger and kissed it. "There!"

Yugi rolled his eyes, smiling brightly at the surreal reality of it all. "Goodnight, mou hitori no boku." Then he climbed into that huge monolith of a bed with frank ease. Then, he more or less disappeared over the sheer edge. In the next moment, the light was switched off, and Yami almost felt the darkness hit him. He had never felt like being in such a void before. It was almost like being back in the heart of the puzzle where the abyss was but a part of him.

He tried to get comfortable. His head moaned at him when he fidgeted too much, and when he rested on his side, he took a breath and let it out slowly. He couldn't sleep for some while. Eventually his night vision adjusted and he could see the bronze sheen on the bell by the bed, and across from it the dull, whitish gleam of the toilet. A grumble of low thunder muttered above him, and the wind squealed at the windows like a trapped rat.

When everything was a lot bigger than you were, you started imagining things – things that made no sense or logic in the daylight. But as Yami lay in his little walnut bed, he could envision a rat coming into the house through a secret hole somewhere and making its way towards him. The storm would make its scuttles hard to hear, and he almost swore he saw something hairy move beyond his sight. He didn't like being down on the floor where things could reach him – and eat him.

The prolonged stress made him sweat and each fast pound of his heart rocked through his body like a throbbing concert without intermission. Unable to sleep, he sat up in the dark and thought about climbing the sheer bedsheets dangling not far from him like a mountaineer to reach Yugi, or ringing the bell like a sissy.

He took many large breaths until his racing heart began to slow. Only then did he lie back down and throw the blanket back over him.

Perhaps not long after, as he still tossed and turned, hoping that sleep would cure him, yet being unable to find sleep, he could hear strange sounds from downstairs. It was a steady scraping and thumping sound as if someone were scratching at the door or windows outside. At first he envisioned it to be tree branches, but the sound was too consistent – too strong. Usually he'd figure out these sounds himself like the Guardian he was. Now he was a Guardian of six inches and hardly worth the help.

But ringing the bell and breaking his dear Yugi out of sleep just to investigate some noise seemed selfish of him. So Yami decided to investigate it, whether he was tiny or not.

He sat up and pushed the sheets from his legs. Leaving the cute little shelter of his bed, he started across Yugi's carpet – a carpet that was fuzzier than he realized, and seemed to stretch out a mile before him.

Though it was dark, he could see well enough, and recognise the furniture even as they hulked above him like slumbering giants.

At least walking toned down his fear. Action made him confident and less weary. The possibility of rats or toys coming to life to attack him still stayed in the back of his mind and his heart was up and racing again, but he was able to focus a little more.

He left the threshold of Yugi's room. The lintel across the floor glinted an impressive brass in the dim starlight from the overhead window on the landing. Yami was thankful Yugi had at least left his door open.

The landing was stiff with gathered stillness. The grandfather clock downstairs could be heard ticking loudly in its fashionable way.

An ominous bookcase towered above him, its books as arduous and as high as a cliff face. The ceiling was so incredibly high that he could not see it for looking and the walls made him feel dizzy if he gazed up at them long enough.

Following his sense of direction, he came to the staircase – a staircase that yawned downwards into a black void like a monster's tongue. He stood at the top stair trying to make up his mind. Going down each step would be like trying to survive a miniature pitfall. Getting back up again would be no easy feat and he saw that he'd only be exhausting himself, and he was stressed enough as it was.

Still, he stood, pressed against the first post of the banister as he listened to the 'other world' that was downstairs. All he could make out was the distinct beat of the rain and the scratchy, turbulent moan of the wind as it hit the eaves of the Game shop. He shrugged, cursing his imagination when he suddenly heard it again. It was a scraping sound – followed by a great big whack!

"Someone's trying to get in!"

He ran back to Yugi's bedroom in an all out sprint, but his haste was his mistake. As he crossed the lintel, he ran straight into his partner's plastic bin. It was such a dark blue that it blended with the night. The bin tottered, and then fell over, promptly spilling its contents to the floor. Yami had fallen over as well, his breathing ragged and thin. The scraping sounds continued – he was sure. He was sure!

The light came on and the room was doused with overly bright luminosity. Yugi sat up in bed, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He was quick to recover from entrenched dreams. "Yami?" He saw his tiny comrade sitting on the floor by a prostrated bin.

Yugi slipped out of bed and approached him warily. Yami looked freaked.

"Someone – outside!" The pharaoh protested.

Yugi scooped him up with practised gentleness and moved him over to his walnut bed. There he sat him down and covered his legs with the small blankets. "I'll take care of it. I want you to breathe." The last thing he wanted was for Yami to have a heart attack.

"But Aibou! You don't... understand!"

"Breathe. Take a big breath and exhale through your nose. Forget about everything else."

Taking his torch from inside the nightstand, he flicked it on and was satisfied to see it glow against his wallpaper. Moving across the room and out into the landing, he turned on each light as he went, filling the sleepy house with life. The minute he had begun this, the sounds outside abruptly stopped.

Mustering his courage because he now had someone dear to protect, Yugi went downstairs, flashing his torch. He went immediately to the front door and undid the locks. Without hesitation he swung the door open.

Gathering all his anger and courage together in one big knot, he stepped out, the cone of light proceeding him.

There was no one there on the porch.

Or anywhere nearby. The street opposite was awash with rainwater and leaves, but there was not a soul in sight.

His pyjamas were getting flecked in rainwater and the cold chill of the air made him shiver.

Grabbing shoes by the door and slipping them on, he stepped into the rain and checked the other side of the door. He expected to see nothing out of the ordinary, but what he did see made him retreat back into the house super fast and lock the door as fear pounded through his body. There were marks: blunt–like marks that had been recently made, and he was sure they hadn't been there earlier. The marks were at the seam of the door, probably done with a crowbar or hammer.

Someone had been trying to get in.

Yugi turned the porch light on, but all he saw was the lonely rain swilling down: coating the world in wet silence. Whoever had been had gone: frightened off by the lights as he switched them on.

Yugi felt a little isolated. Grampa was gone for another five days was it? And Yami was well... tiny and stressed to heck. Yugi was the man of the house now until either one of them returned – normal.

Had someone been trying to break in because of the game cards, or the cash in the register? It hadn't been the first time; hence the extra locks on the door.

Yugi endeavoured to call the police in the morning.

He switched off the torch and turned off the lights, leaving one on in the lounge. When he returned back to the bedroom, Yami was still sitting up, looking pallid and panic-stricken.

"Someone was trying to get in!" He said, "I heard it so! Aibou, you were all alone down there! They could have..."

"There's nothing to worry about. It was just a cat." It was a white lie, but he didn't want to panic a convalescing Yami who had found himself easy prey to just about everything. "You need to go back to sleep."

"Yes... but..." He wailed numbly.

Yugi sighed. He knew that look. Yami was going to stay up the whole night now, listening to every creak and moan of the house in worried anticipation. He was after all the protector of the house: the Guardian. And he didn't know when to quit.

Yugi scooped him back out of the walnut bed and took one doll blanket with him. He then slipped back into his own bed and nestled Yami beside him in the crook of his upper arm. He layered the little blanket on top and lay down, bringing his own larger blanket to rest over his chest, which reached up to Yami's legs.

He knew that this was what Joey had strongly advised against, but he'd be careful, and was certain he wouldn't move at all during the night.

Yami was warmed quickly by Yugi's heat, and this softened his strangling anxiety. He gripped Yugi's clothing and snuggled down. For a time all Yugi could feel was the Egyptian's tiny heart hammering madly against his ribs and he grew worried. However, after about fifteen minutes, his heart rate gradually slowed until Yugi could no longer feel it racing.

Yugi smiled tentatively. His little partner had fallen asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dib07:** 40 reviews? 40... reviews? There must be something wrong! There's no way I could get so much recognition! I must be dreaming! Or is a little Yami really that adorable? He must be. Lol. So yeah, this story won the vote. But only barely. 'The Choices We Make' was literally behind only by one vote. So it will be interesting to see what will win next week. I'm putting my money on this story though. Anyway, this is one of my favourite chapters. Enjoy!

**Duelmonstersqueen:** Hello! Yes, an update was in order: I love writing about this little guy! So much so I'm trying to draw a scene right now! But its the background I suck at. So have fun! I think you'll like this one! And Yami in pink: so far I do him in pink everything! XD**  
><strong>

** Guest: **I hope you didn't find the wait too long! :3**  
><strong>

**xxx**

**Chapter six:**

**xxx**

After Yugi had explained the incident early that morning over mugs of hot coffee, Joey and Anzu looked nonplussed. "I could stay overnight if you want." She had said with Joey not far behind on the offer.

They hadn't called the cops that morning, because, strangely enough, the rain had washed away the evidence. Yet Yugi had been sure he had seen crude marks slashed into the seam by the door handle as if someone had attacked the wood with a crowbar. Now, in the sunlight, there was wet mud, but no marks.

Yami sat on Yugi's shoulder, listening carefully. Because he had no other clothes, he was still dressed in his badly stitched pink pyjamas that Anzu had made the day before.

"Well, whatever was at yor door last night, Yuug," Joey said, "we gotta sort out this curse thing. Yami's had a good sleep right? And he hasn't changed back."

"Right. We'll need to look it up on the internet." Yugi agreed. "We still have time before we go to college. This shouldn't be too hard."

Anzu looked doubtful but didn't say anything to smash their hopes.

With Yugi sitting in front of his ZedGear laptop at the desk, Anzu and Joey stood behind him, peering at the screen. Yami remained on his shoulder, not really sure of 'internets' and 'laptops.'

Yugi typed in 'Egyptian Curses' and clicked on 'search.'

A list of websites returned, some of them dealing directly with the curses found outside the tombs of pharaohs, or curses concerning the Book of Life. Egyptians usually had a charm for every occasion, or a spell to ward off unwanted spirits, but Egyptians rarely dealt in evil curses, or even evil beings. Apep was considered an evil serpent at times, but in reality the Egyptians considered him a necessity in the wheel of life.

The old books Yugi had bought had no apparent author, so whoever recorded the spells was more likely to have been a rogue sorcerer who was more diabolical than some.

"You're an Egyptian, Yami." Anzu said. Yami turned to her. "Can't you say some spells of your own? Can't you try to break it with counter spells or words that only you know?"

"I gave it a try." Yami replied honestly, "But I am not familiar with how to break this curse."

Yugi tried putting in the date and publisher of the Egyptian books, which had been around in the early Victorian period by the Templar corp. He searched around, and found a few pages torn out of the very same kind of books for sale on ebay for over a thousand dollars.

"Jesus! The books we have must be worth millions if a few pages can fetch a few thousand!" Joey cried excitedly.

"At least there are other copies out there," Yugi muttered vacantly, "though it does seem to be rare."

"Look," Joey bumped Yugi aside, causing Yami to scrabble for a handhold, and began to furiously type on the keyboard, "Ya need to be a little more resourceful!" And he typed in: 'Egyptian spells that make one small.'

Only two listings returned. One was for cosmetic surgery performed in Egypt that made one's boobs smaller. The other was: reversal of ancient spells including the reversal of dwarfism. Joey clicked on it.

It was nothing but a commercial ad for dwarfs who wanted to appear 'taller.'

"Fuck this." Joey went to grab the heavy tomes.

"Joey!" Anzu shouted. "No swearing while I'm here! I won't have it!"

"Blah blah blah!" He mocked, returning with the books. He plonked them heavily on the table behind them and flicked through the pages roughly. He came to the back of the book named 'Spells to ward off Enemies' where there was the glossary and contents. The contents were in Egyptian. "Yami, come 'ere and translate this out loud so that we can all hear it."

"As you wish, Joey."

Yugi came over and gently stood Yami down on the table by the giant tome. The pharaoh gave it an observatory look, mistrusting its old, musty pages as if he was dealing with a sleeping king cobra. Then he lightened up and started to read. "Most spells recorded on these walls of Akhenaton are to harm evil spirits. If they are read by Egyptian tongue, woe comes to the beholder. However, if these spells are conducted by innocent human spirits, it can be reversed if the original conditions are met and the following words read: Hem pha de: To be true." Yami shrugged. "That's it." He said, looking up at them to measure their expressions.

"What does it mean by 'original' conditions?" Anzu asked.

"I honestly don't know." Yugi's expression was furrowed as he tried to think: hard. But he wasn't coming up with anything.

"I don't know if it would work, even if I did figure it out." Yami protested. They all looked down at him. Their expressions were heartfelt, concerned. "For two reasons." He swallowed, gave himself a moment, then said quietly, "I'm not entirely a human spirit. I used to be, once, but the puzzle changed me into something more of a demon. Secondly, I am not innocent. I've done more than hurt people in the past, and I welcomed darkness into my heart during that terrible orichalcos saga."

Anzu and Joey didn't wholly understand Yami's confession, but Yugi did. "That's not true." His light replied in adamant reprisal, "you are a human spirit, and you took back all you did! The past is over!"

Yami looked at him sadly, and shook his head. "That, I am unsure."

"About these original conditions." Anzu said, "I think that basically means that Yami has to be in the same state he was in before or after when the change happened. He banged his head, right? I think he has to be concussed again."

Yugi shook his head. "I'm not letting him smash his head open twice! There has to be some other way!"

"There isn't I don't think!" Joey added. "Unless you want Yami to be this way forever!"

"Concussing him when he's this size could very well kill him!"

Joey put his hands in his pockets. "We don't have to do anything right now, okay? But we gotta decide. And we gotta decide soon."

xxx

Yami's world was full of ugly limitations, but he tolerated them all rather well, he was sure, even though his life force had dwindled down to a tiny spark.

Yugi wrapped him in his doll blanket to add to the warmth of his thin pyjamas. "We're going to college." He said as he poked Yami into one of his zipper coat pockets.

Yami lay one little arm over the pocket, the blanket hanging over his head like a hood. "Is that wise, Aibou?"

"I don't want you home alone, or with anyone else. You're too susceptible." Which really was just a polite way of saying: you're utterly helpless now. Get used to it.

And he was helpless.

Yugi was all packed and ready to go. Yami was the last equation and now that he was stuffed in one deep pocket, Yugi slipped on his college bag and with the puzzle around his neck, he headed for the front door. The wind whined like a forlorn dog's cry and the leaves swirled ludicrously on the ground like living things. Yugi had to push the door shut to get it closed, and locked it securely behind him.

Yami watched from his little pocket-burrow, surprised at how warm and sheltered he was. Yugi's warmth was coming through the bottom of the pocket and if the wind blasted too strong, all Yami had to do was duck inside and be as snug as a bug.

The reversal of roles was quite incredible: Yugi now being the boss and caretaker. The pharaoh being the one for the ride. Yami astonished himself by realizing how much he endeared Yugi's confidence. And how much he depended upon it.

Content, Yami watched the world tumble by from his zipper pocket. The wind whispered teasingly at his golden bangs and the sharp spring cold made his nose go numb. Yugi's walk was steady and often he looked down to make sure Yami was comfortable.

Ahead of them, near the road, a couple of young children were playing with a ball. They were kicking it across to each other, laughing and giggling despite the cold. They were dressed in their winter gear with great big woolly hats nearly covering their eyes.

One of them kicked the ball too hard, and it bounced onto the road. Yugi saw one of the boys set off to follow it when a car came round the corner of the road too fast. Yugi dashed to a full-blown run, and grabbed the kid just before he stepped into the car's path.

Yami saw it all, on the grass from where he had fallen. He hadn't landed far, but the uncut grass was so long it almost covered him. He tried to stand but the fall must have hurt his leg. He could barely put his weight on it.

Yugi was dusting the kid off and giving him the don't-go-into-the-road speech. He could only have been a stone's throw away, but to the Game King it was more like five hundred feet away.

"Aibou! Aibou! I fell! I'm here!" His screaming grew hoarse quickly, but he kept yelling anyway.

Not liking this alien world he had been dropped into, he started limping quickly over to Yugi.

His screams were not heard.

And he could not limp fast enough.

Still he barked and screamed.

Yugi turned and crossed the road without looking back.

And then he was gone.

Yami stood in the jungle of grass for a moment and felt his spark of life go out along with Yugi. Black despair flooded his warmth and sanity. He imagined dying of hypothermia or heartbreak, he wasn't sure which would come first.

He gulped and looked behind him where Yugi had come from. One question remained: either he try to follow Yugi, or try to find his way back home.

He did the most sensible thing.

He started heading home.

The grass was wet and he didn't like walking through it very much, parting grass blades out of the way like he was parting through tree branches. The moisture was thick and it landed on his clothes, saturating him. He thought he saw huge spiders crawling around down here, and he darted around those areas with deftness.

Much to his widening dismay, he heard a clamour of voices approaching him from behind. With little clue on what to do except to hide like a mouse, he dropped to the soil and lay there, smelling in the rank stink of stagnant mud and wet grass.

Yami seemed to forget however, how brightly coloured he was. If his hair wasn't bright enough, it was his pink pyjamas. Regardless, he was spotted by a sharp-sighted little girl. She bent over him until her shadow engulfed him completely, her brown locks swaying downwards from her head like vines. Yami considered his options, and discovered with sickening dread that they were all but useless.

The child's hand zipped out like a gorgon's mouth. And before he knew it he was being lifted up from the ground, pudgy little hands now wrapped tightly around his chest and tummy.

"Look momie! A new toy!" The little girl swayed him toward an adult who had slick black hair and a grey dress. She was on her phone, and gave Yami a brief, customary glance.

"Very nice, dear." The mother said. But a second later and her attention was strictly on her invisible conversation with the phone. "Ah yes, Eric. That colour will do fine for the walls. Just add it to the list, but I'm only paying a thousand yen, no more, you hear?"

The girl gripped him in her hand and was currently examining him as all girls examine new toys for defects. For why else would such a good toy be thrown out?

Yami tried to keep his eyes from blinking, but his tiny heart was in full gallop and his chest was swelling as he panted.

This is it.

This is how I die.

Murdered my some ignorant young girl.

She seemed to notice him breathing, and looked at his back as if hunting for a battery compartment to explain it. When she looked at him again she seemed to be admiring her new find while she walked in-step with her busy mother as they headed down the path to a block of unfamiliar houses.

She experimentally squeezed him, something most children did to test the durability of their toys. "You're squishy!" She said pleasantly.

"That hurts!" Yami roared at her, anger replacing his crazed fear.

She almost dropped him from surprise. He wished she had.

The little girl turned quickly to her mother and tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. "Mommy! My toy! It talks!"

Yami chose to name her as Distracted Mother. And Distracted Mother only gave her daughter a sparing glance as most mothers did when their child asked silly things. "Yes, yes." She went back to the phone without transition. "No, I said yesterday, Eric! And I want the red bucket! Not the blue! Are you blind?"

Yami's plan to stay quiet bled right away. So he went for plan B. "Put me down this instant!" He yelled thickly up at her, his rich voice cracking. And he was yelling hell-for-leather. This was his last chance, his ONLY chance to get away. If she didn't listen to him now, then the child never would. "I have an owner! I do not belong to you!"

She giggled at him. "You sound funny!"

"Put me down, girl!"

Her grip wasn't loosening. "My name is Emily Hope. I'll be eight this year!" Came her tawdry response. The tawdry response of a child who didn't know any better.

He had to keep trying, but he felt himself dying inside. "Please, young lady! Put me down! You don't want me! I poop for real, and I have a penis!" His desperation surmounted him to blab these things – things that his honour would never dictate he say. But he saw his death in the clumsy hands of a child, and felt the widening gap as Yugi and his home drew further away. Also, he knew he'd be without his medication. This too spelled death and he needed to throw everything he had at her.

But his plan went tits up.

"That's sounds funny! Pen-is! What's a pen-is?"

Yami shook his head angrily. "Please, Emily! I beg of you! Release me!"

But this 'Emily' was on a tirade of her own. "My friends are going to be so jealous! Wait until I show you my doll house and my friends in my room! I'm going to call you Trevor!"

"No, no, my name is Yami! Yami Motou!"

"Yami? That's a stupid name! Did your last owner name use that icky name?"

"Dear Ra, give me strength..." There was one last action to perform, and though his honour revolted at doing such a thing, he really had no choice. He opened his mouth and bit down hard on the little girl's top index finger.

"Ow!" She cried, and traded him for the other hand. "Naughty Trevor!" She said, and poked him in the eye.

Yami cringed and tried to hide his face away, tears racing out of his injured eye.

He was out of options.

And out of time.

He could not do much else as his head whizzed with thoughts and ideas. But all ideas were quickly abandoned as soon as he thought them up. He was six inches tall! Everything else would have worked great! He could have stuffed the girl down her mother's dress by now and be done with it. Except he was clenched in her hand as if he was a paltry item. An item!

They took him to their home, much to his harrowing protests until his throat was sore. The child bounded up the porch steps like a goat, and Yami saw the floor bounce up and down until he felt like throwing up.

Distracted Mother let the child in through the front door while still ranting on the phone. "Miranda! I know, okay! The plant pots go on the windowsill where the ferrets can't get them! Yes, even the larger ones!"

Emily took off her bag, shoes and coat and left them by the radiator in a flurry of excitement. "Let's go and play!"

Oh Ra... please... no...

She bounded up the stairs, throwing caution to the wind. Yami saw his escape getting narrower and narrower. The deeper he went into this lair, the more he panicked. The house, once an ordinary place with your average five rooms or so, became a dungeon for Yami: an alien dungeon and the little seven year old girl was the warden.

When the little girl reached the top of the stairs, a great big cat came out of a pink bedroom and combed around her chubby legs, meowing for food.

"Shoo, Tabatha shoo!" Emily said.

Yami stared down at this lethal murdering machine he used to find sacred.

Oh Ra... It's got worse. Now this house has its own security guard from hell.

Death by cat was going to be agony, he was sure. His expectations just got darker.

* * *

><p><strong>Dib07: ^^<strong>

**The things I DO to this pharaoh! Well, I am far from done! Yami, I require my notebook! Now!**


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